Vimeo Partners with Here Media to Fund LGBTQ Programming For and By LGBTQ Creators

Not too long ago, Vimeo announced that they’d be doing their part to promote and fund female filmmakers under a brand new initiative titled “Share the Screen”. Now, they’re opening up their scope and turning their sights to LGBTQ filmmakers. They’ve partnered up with Here Media, the parent company behind The Advocate, Out, and SheWired to promote projects for and by LGBTQ filmmakers.

The first film to be getting a boost from Vimeo will be Hush Up Sweet Charlotte, a film by Billy Clift, who directed Baby Jane?, which was a drag parody of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane. The next film, Out West, features Jennifer Elyse Cox, Sean Astin, and Daniel Baldwin in a movie about a woman who “leaves her luxe Reno life behind… to reboot the family enterprise as a dude ranch with the help of her three gay friends.”

Take a look at the full press release below, and tell us: what do you think about this new partnership?

HERE MEDIA AND VIMEO PARTNER TO SPOTLIGHT LGBT PROGRAMMING

New Partnership Highlights Content Made For and By the LGBT Community Including the Here Media Films Out West and Hush Up Sweet Charlotte

February 16, 2016 (Los Angeles, CA) – Today, Here Media, the world’s leading LGBT media and marketing strategy firm, and video streaming platform, Vimeo partnered on a new initiative to spotlight the groundbreaking work being created by LGBT filmmakers. The partnership extends Vimeo’s commitment to diversity in the LGBT space with an investment in quality LGBT programming. The deal also allows Vimeo to directly reach the influential LGBT consumer through marketing and advertising campaigns that will run across Here Media’s iconic brand platforms, including The Advocate, OUT, Pride.com, Here TV, and Plus magazine.

Paul Colichman, CEO of Here Media shared, “By partnering with Vimeo, Here Media further expands its community of storytellers, innovators and influencers and upholds its mission to give a creative voice to all people in the LGBT space, as well as bridging our brands’ audiences to these content creators.”

Sam Toles, Vimeo’s Head of Global Content Acquisitions and Distribution added “Vimeo has always been proud to support diversity in its programming. We are delighted to further our commitment to sharing the screen with the most talented LGBT creators through this exciting collaboration”.

The first Here Media film included in the partnership comes from Billy Clift, the director behind the critically-acclaimed feature film Baby Jane?. Written and directed by Clift, the comedic thriller, Hush Up Sweet Charlotte,premiered on Vimeo onFebruary 15, 2016, and is available athttps://vimeo.com/ondemand/hushupsweetcharlotte.Charlotte Holler is about to lose everything, especially her mind, in this parody of the Bette Davis cult classic Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte. The film stars Mink Stole, David Millbern and Varla Jean Merman.

Out West, the second Here Media film in the partnership, centers on celebutante Prissy Alcott, who leaves her luxe Reno life behind and returns to her childhood home in Colorado after learning that her family has gone broke and is selling their ranch. She tries to reboot the family enterprise as a dude ranch with the help of her three gay friends. Directed by Lee Brownstein, Out West stars Jennifer Elyse Cox, Sean Astin, and Daniel Baldwin.

As a full service marketing and media company, Here Media will cross promote the films and other LGBT Vimeo content across all of the touch points of the iconic LGBT brands in its portfolio, believed to reach a majority of adult LGBTs. With a combined audience of 10MM+ monthly unique viewers across digital, social, print and television, Here Media has unparalleled scale in the LGBT space.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Here Media as the brand begins to enter the LGBT space,” Toles continued. “We look forward to bringing the Vimeo audience thought-provoking films and continuing our on-going partnership with Here Media that will expand beyond the premieres of Hush Up Sweet Charlotte and Out West.”